Winding machines for winding a wire or cable are well-known. Typically, a winding machine includes a spindle on which a mandrel is mounted to rotate the mandrel, and a traverse which reciprocates along a path parallel to the axis of the spindle to guide the wire or cable onto the rotating mandrel. The mandrel itself typically includes a collapsible core and two end flanges. After the wire or cable is wound onto the mandrel, one of the end flanges is removed and the core collapses so that the wire can be removed from the mandrel.
One problem with prior art mandrels is that it is sometimes difficult and cumbersome to realign the end flange with the core segments when reinstalling the end flange. This difficulty arises from the fact that the flange typically includes milled slots which must be properly aligned with the core segments. If the end flange is not properly aligned with the core segments, then the two pieces will not fit together.